Five Insane Pieces of Star Trek Merchendise.

 
The world of Star Trek merchandise can be a strange one. If you’re like me – a fan of all science fiction, from Andromedia to Quantum Leap, Doctor Who to Red Dwarf, Star Wars to Star Trek – then you might recall Yogurt from Mel Brooks’ uproariously funny Star Wars spoof film Spaceballs when he said: “Merchandising! Merchandising! Where the real money… is made.”

Yogurt might have been a spoof version of Yoda, and hawking Spaceballs branded flamethrowers to children, but he has a point. When a television series or film gets popular, the merchandising deals are sure to follow.

This trend got out of control in the post-Star Wars days of the early eighties, and although some branded items have excellent real-world uses some merchandise for our beloved franchises – including Star Trek – should have been left in the cargo bay. Or better yet, blown out the nearest airlock…

Here are five examples of strange, hilarious, and totally collectible goodies from the last 40 plus years of Star Trek merchandise…

Renegades: Reqium Review

A while back there was a crowdfund call for money to create a new Star Trek series. Called Star Trek: Renegades it had a number of big, familiar names associated with it and plans to make a darker, grittier version of Trek than previously seen.

Unfortunately, there were issues with IP. Paramount were not keen on allowing the producers to use the name Star Trek. This was probably because they were already developing Star Trek: Discovery which looks set to involve its own gritty reinvention. The project, therefore, mutated, removing many of the familiar concepts and dropping the Star Trek from the title. Renamed Renegades the first two episodes, which combine to form the pilot 'Reqium', have now been completed and the first part released to backers.


As a backer of this project, I got access to the first episode on February 2nd, though did not have a chance to watch it until recently due to issues with building work in the house. What follows is my review.


The plot revolves around a crew of 'deniable assets' working for an interplanetary organization called the Confederation. They report to an elderly Admiral (played by Walter Koenig) who is working against a hidden cabal within the Confederation and realizes he cannot trust anyone within his own command structure. So, he calls on a mercenary crew of criminals led by Lexxa Singh to perform missions.

Star Trek: Discovery- James Frain Cast as Sarek

This week it was announced that British actor James Frain was cast to play the role of the Vulcan Sarek in the upcoming Star Trek: Discovery series, due out sometime in May of 2017.

Frain has starred in such films and TV series such as Gotham, Tron Legacy, True Blood and Agent Carter.

Sarek is of course, the father of the infamous Vulcan Spock, a beloved character of the franchise that has been connected to almost every variation or generation of the Star Trek universe.